Connecticut Rock Musicians Pay Tribute To RONNIE JAMES DIO (Video)

August 10, 2010

MEGAHERTZ, THREAT, CATEGORY 5, KARMIC JUSTICE, MIKE CORWELL, GARGAMEL, VENGEANCE and SOLAR ANGELS are among the Connecticut-based artists who took part in a tribute concert to the legendary heavy metal singer Ronnie James Dio (HEAVEN & HELL, DIO, BLACK SABBATH, RAINBOW) on July 23 at Toad's Place in New Haven, Connecticut.

Video footage of several of the musicians performing the track "Stars" from the HEAR N' AID project can be viewed below.

Dio's brainchild, the HEAR N' AID project featured a collection of metal artists coming together to record the song "Stars" in 1985 to raise funds for African famine relief.

Dio died of stomach cancer on the morning of May 16, at the age of 67.

He was renowned throughout the world as one of the greatest and most influential vocalists in heavy metal history.

The singer, who was recording and touring with SABBATH offshoot HEAVEN & HELL prior to his illness, was diagnosed with stomach cancer late last year. He underwent chemotherapy and made what is now his final public appearance in April at the Revolver Golden Gods Awards in Los Angeles.

HEAVEN & HELL recently canceled summer tour plans because Dio was not going to be well enough to tour.

The band released a new studio album in 2009, titled "The Devil You Know".

Ronnie James Dio, real name Ronald James Padavona, was born in New Hampshire on July 10, 1942.

He moved to Cortland, New York at a young age, where he began playing with local acts. A street in Cortland, Dio Way, was named after him in 1988.

He released his first single, with a band called RONNIE AND THE REDCAPS, in 1959.

His first heavy rock act, ELF, released three albums and opened for DEEP PURPLE, where Dio's voice caught the ear of guitarist Ritchie Blackmore. Blackmore recruited Dio for his own band, RAINBOW, after leaving PURPLE in 1975.

Dio recorded three studio albums and one live set with RAINBOW before exiting in 1978, including "Rising" and "Long Live Rock And Roll".

He replaced Ozzy Osbourne in BLACK SABBATH in 1980, recording the "Heaven & Hell" and "Mob Rules" albums, plus "Live Evil", before leaving in 1982. He rejoined the group 10 years later for an album called "Dehumanizer", and again teamed with the group under the HEAVEN & HELL banner in 2006.

He has also recorded 10 studio albums with his own band, DIO, including a classic 1983 debut, "Holy Diver".

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